Abigail Grace Carpenter
Abigail Grace Carpenter is a graduate of Ashe County High School and will be attending Yale University in the fall.
In Ashe County, many migrant workers assist in the region’s annual Christmas tree production process and their children enroll at the public schools for the season. Over the years, Carpenter has gotten to know many children of migrant workers. Carpenter intends to study global affairs and energy studies. After graduation, she aspires to attend law school and become an immigration lawyer, with the hopes of coming back to Ashe County to support workers and their families.
Carpenter also spent time volunteering at a local food bank and attended the North Carolina School of Science and Math to pursue classes not offered at her high school. This has emphasized the importance of education and giving back to the community for Carpenter, a recipient of the Ruth Vannoy Price Scholarship and a first-generation student.
“The best way for me to express my gratitude is to make the most of my education at Yale. I am the most excited about being able to take a class from one of my idols, Akil Amar. He is a revolutionary constitutional theorist and I have been studying his work for years. I want to inspire the rest of the students at Ashe County High School to pursue their dreams and continue the success of my classmates.”